It’s always a good day when a police chief receives positive comments about his officers’ professionalism and thorough investigations. And Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow is hearing those kinds of comments from federal district attorneys, including the head of the U.S. Eastern District Court of North Carolina.
Barrow said he got a call two Fridays ago from U.S. Attorney Michael Easley Jr. himself in connection with a federal case.
“I was honored that he called me,” Barrow said on Monday’s TownTalk. “He spoke to me and praised the work that we’ve been able to do.” Easley complimented the local department on their professionalism and the way they put cases together, Barrow said.
In a recent press release regarding the sentencing of a local man in federal court, Easley commented: “The Henderson Police Department has made major investments in the federal partnership and the people of Henderson are safer for it. This city is bringing every law enforcement tool to fight the opioid crisis, and we are proud to partner with state and local police and prosecutors to fight fentanyl trafficking and save lives.”
“We’re well established in the federal system,” Barrow said, for the way “we produce great cases,” from creating reports to collecting and processing evidence.
Click Play for Barrow on WIZS TownTalk
Some members of the local police department serve on different federal task forces of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Barrow said, which provides a path for some cases to be tried in federal court.
“We truly did a big investment into the federal program,” Barrow explained. With input from local district attorneys to decide which cases – usually involving guns and drugs – should go to federal court, Barrow said the trials and sentencing can happen in a “pretty swift” manner.
The main thing, he said, is that “they are removed from our community – they are the worst of the worst.”
Barrow said his department also can assist other agencies.
“It’s a big collaborative effort on our part. We’re just trying to get everybody on board…We’re just looking at the best solution for our community,” he said.
The officers who participate on the various task forces are just part of the resources that Barrow said he needs to help keep Henderson and its residents safe.
He would like to purchase something called True Narc, a system that can safely field test narcotics and protect officers from exposure to harmful drugs like Fentanyl.
He said this system will produce an immediate test result when officers are out in the field. And he’s investigating ways of paying for it.
“Instead of using taxpayers’ money, I’d rather use drug dealers’ money,” he said.
The Eastern District includes Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties among the 44 easternmost counties of North Carolina. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.